A well-kempt woman is the pride of every fancy restaurant
One.
I ate lunch at a very pleasant restaurant today. The hostess was quite glamorous. She had overbleached blond hair swept back in a wispy bun, and was wearing a black silk halter top with a pleated, black silk skirt. She looked kind of art-school bohemian meets Grace Kelly. to top it off, she was wearing a pair of 3-inch black stiletto heels. Since I just bought a pair of low heels to wear to conferences and am trying to figure out whether I can make it through the day in them, shoes are on my mind. When she stopped by to check on my table, I couldn’t resist asking whether her feet hurt. "Oh yes," she said. "By the end of the day they get numb. I take two Tylenol every morning before coming to work."
Two.
At the place I went for dinner, the teenage hostess was wearing a white linen dress, belted with a rope(!) just under her breasts and covering about three inches of her upper thighs. Midway through my meal, a friend of her mother’s wandered by and asked rather pointedly whether it was a shirt or a dress.
I was in downtown SF on Thursday evening and decided to kill some time at Macy’s before my evening writing class started. So I walked through the ladies’ shoe department, which happens to be pretty large and a good way to get an overview of what’s in for the fall season.
I’d say about 90% of the shoes had heels upwards of 2 inches in height! I could only conclude that nobody wants to walk any more.
Comment by Kristin — August 14, 2006 @ 3:00 pm
I’ve noticed in movies I’ve seen recently that the fashion industry is really pushing siletto heels. What I can’t figure out is why any woman would buy shoes that are bad for her feet, legs, and lower back. It just seems so wrong.
Comment by jo(e) — August 15, 2006 @ 12:06 am
Okay, I meant stiletto heels ….
Comment by jo(e) — August 15, 2006 @ 12:07 am
I can’t say I’ve been sorry to see thinner heels coming back into style, because I rather like them. But not for the parts of my job where I’m on my feet all the time! I teach in comfortable shoes, I conference in comfortable shoes, I reserve the heels for dress up - weddings, dinners out… I like the way they make my legs look and I like that they make me taller!
I also don’t train for marathons during the school year because it makes my feet hurt too. So the craziness/working through pain can be more ubiquitous.
Comment by Michelle — August 15, 2006 @ 3:32 pm
Status report on new shoes: 5 band-aids per foot. The “low heels” were fine. It was the rest of the shoe that tore up my feet. Then I switched to my backup Teva’s and THOSE gave me blisters somewhere else. ouch.
Comment by drshellie — August 19, 2006 @ 8:48 pm
Yeah, my Achilles’ heels are…well, my Achilles’ heels. For a new pair of shoes, it’s best to put bandaids (the new rubbery cushioned ones mean to stay on a few days are better than the traditional plasters) on your Achilles’ heels preemptively. You often don’t know where blisters may appear on toes until after the first day, but that’s OK, bandaids can take care of that.
Blisters underfoot? Get Dr. Scholls gel inserts.
I recommend you check out Tsubo if you can get away with slightly athletic-looking shoes (they do have a couple of understated designs). And I think you could–I’ve been to physics conferences, and I know that people dress more out of habit or comfort than at any attempt at style. So get a pair of Tsubos and be kind to your feet.
Comment by Kristin — August 20, 2006 @ 10:31 pm